


Tattoos and Constellations

by thoughtfullightcollection



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: M/M, Sharp Objects, Swearing, Tattoos, trigger warnings: needles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-02 23:38:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14556075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoughtfullightcollection/pseuds/thoughtfullightcollection
Summary: Thanks to Britt @moossage for inspiring Beth :) The dialogue shouldn't be blamed on her though. Those mistakes are all mine.





	Tattoos and Constellations

Phil had no idea what he was doing. Or rather, he knew exactly what he was doing because he’d been researching everything, from the best place in London to go to exactly what parts of him might fall off should he catch a disease there, since he first had the insane idea to do this. What he didn’t know was why he’d ever thought it was a good idea in the first place and he was seriously considering backing out, was pulling his jacket on even, when the receptionist called his name from behind the counter.

In the movies Phil had watched, tattoo parlors were dimly lit crack dens, the air filled with smoke and an ominous buzzing sound, while Big Mike the tattoo artist inked the skin of Angry Pete the tough- as-nails biker as they both swigged tequila straight from the bottle and complained about their women.

He had friends with tattoos, of course, and they had assured him that he wouldn’t actually die if he got one-but Phil had never been fond of needles. Or permanence. Until Dan. Dan was why he’d decided to do this in the first place. They’d been laid out on the sofa in their lounge, laptops open, legs tangled, and Netflix on the telly when a gorgeous, tattooed man had come on screen.

Dan had said he’d always found tattoos fascinating, and more than a bit sexy, and Phil had said how he’d always admired the art and they’d ended up going on a two-hour long Wikipedia odyssey on the subject. Phil had decided then that he wanted one, and he had an idea of what it should be, but he didn’t share with Dan.

So, Phil had Googled, and he’d grilled his friends, and he’d made an appointment at what was supposed to be the best tattoo parlor in all of London. That’s how he’d come to be where he was, sat on one of two comfy sofas in a nicely decorated waiting room, watching the fish swim calmly through the water in a giant saltwater aquarium on one wall and listening to the same kind of plinky plonky music he liked to play when he took a bath at home.

None of this was helping to keep him calm though, and he sat at the very edge of the sofa, tapping his foot on the floor and tapping his fingers on his knee, and trying not to panic. He’d been chatting with a woman as they’d waited, and she’d been call back before him. He listened intently, but he didn’t hear her screaming. Maybe they’d padded the walls, wouldn’t want to scare people away with the shrieks of agony….and just like that he changed his mind about the whole thing and started tugging on his jacket.

“Beth’s ready for you now, Mr. Lester, if you’ll follow me.”

The pretty blonde receptionist spoke in a firm, no nonsense tone that had Phil moving his feet before his panicked brain had quite caught up and he followed her down a short hallway to a brightly lit room not unlike those he had been in when he’d seen a doctor. It looked clean and Phil’s worries about catching a strange disease from the place were calmed a bit. He didn’t like the looks of the exam table in the center of the room though.

He must have looked as nervous as he felt because the receptionist gave him a reassuring smile as she handed him a binder, suggested he have a look through it, and left the room snapping the door shut behind her. He took a seat on the only chair in the room and flipped through the book, seeing that it contained designs clients could choose from if they weren’t sure what they wanted inked into their skin forever. Phil knew exactly what he wanted. He’d sketched it out, though his skills there were questionable.

There was a brisk knock on the door and it opened before Phil could respond, allowing a woman nearly as tall as he was to come whirling in. He took in the sight of her; dark hair, hazel eyes, black nails, lips, and jeans, and an Eeyore jumper. The Eeyore jumper was what put him at ease. That, and the kindness in her eyes. She was saying something to him in an …. was that an American accent? Excellent, Phil loved Americans, and it would be a nice distraction while she was poking him with a needle 3,000 times a minute.

She looked him up and down and grinned cheekily, “Hi, I’m Beth, and damned if you aren’t a beautiful man. Wanna tell me what you’d like me to do to you today?”

It took Phil a second to catch up after that comment.

“Errr, yes. I have a drawing?” he pulled it out of his jeans pocket awkwardly and handed it over. “It’s pretty simple, just a few dots and lines and I’d like it to be not much bigger than 50p?”

She looked his design over, nodded and said “Alright, cutie, we can do that. Take off your shirt, lay back on the table, and we’ll get started.” She smiled at him again and Phil had a sudden urge to run.

__________________________________________________________

He’d had to wait three weeks for the tattoo to heal, carefully cleaning it and applying cream every day. He knew it wouldn’t be fully healed for a few months, but it was no longer sensitive to touch and he thought it looked great. Phil had wanted to surprise Dan with the tattoo, he’d imagined lots of romantic or sexy scenarios, but Dan beat him to it.

“Ok, what the fuck is going on, Phil Lester?” Dan was standing, hands on hips, glaring at him from the opposite side of their bed as they’d been turning back the sheets for the night.

Surprised at the outburst, Phil dropped the pillow he’d just picked up.

“What the hell are you on about?”

“You’ve been acting stranger than usual for a month! Every time I go to touch you, you move away. We haven’t had sex for 19 bloody days. You haven’t so much as taken your shirt off around me. So. what. the. fuck. is. going. on. here?” Dan’s voice had risen with every word until he was near shouting by “fuck” and he dropped his hands from his waist to clench them into fists at his sides.

Phil was about to come up with an excuse for his strange behavior when he looked into Dan’s eyes and saw genuine upset, and more than a little worry. He sighed deeply and, with Dan’s eyes following his every move, reached down to grab the hem of his t-shirt and drag it up and over his head. Dropping his shirt to the floor, Phil looked at Dan and waited. He didn’t have to wait long for a reaction.

“Holy shit! What is that? What did you do? Is that a tattoo? You hate needles! Did it hurt? When did you do this? WHY did you do this?” During this interrogation, in which Phil couldn’t get in a word edgewise, Dan was taking long strides around the bed to Phil’s side.

Peering owlishly at the mark just below Phil’s right collarbone, Dan pursed his lips and asked, “Philip Michael Lester, what have you done?”

“Mum, is that you?” sighing, Phil sat on the bed and patted the mattress beside him, silently asking Dan to sit as well.

Before Phil could begin to explain, Dan asked “Can I touch it?”

“Sure.” Phil shrugged. “I’ve been waiting to show you until you’d be able to without me cringing.” He settled back against the headboard and Dan scooted closer.

“It looks like a constellation. What…what does it mean?” Dan breathed, wide eyed, tracing seven lines to seven dots with a gentle fingertip.

It was tickling a bit, but that’s not why Phil squirmed. “It’s really sappy. You’ll laugh.”

“I won’t, I promise.” Dan grinned, the grin Phil loved that wrinkled his nose and crinkled around his eyes. Looking into those eyes, Phil relented. He’d done this with Dan in mind, after all, might as well tell him the whole thing.

Phil reached out to stroke Dan’s cheek and, as always, Dan leaned into the touch. Phil started counting, tracing lines from freckle to freckle on Dan’s cheek. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.”

Dan’s eyes went soft. “Phil?”

“There are seven freckles on this cheek and I’ve named them all, you know? You look at them as flaws sometimes, but they’re not, they’re special. I particularly like this one”, he tapped the freckle nearest Dan’s eye softly. “I’ve named it Bob.”

“You spork, you had my freckles tattooed onto your chest?” Dan’s voice had the squeaky quality to it that told Phil he was feeling particularly emotional. But then he started tracing the blue and green ink of Phil’s tattoo again and asked, “What are these lines meant to be?”

Phil blushed from head to toe and squirmed even farther into the mattress in embarrassment. He looked away from Dan, “um, well that’s where it gets really disgustingly cheesy.”

“Phillll!”

“Fine, but if you laugh… They stand for the big things we’ve done together, ok? That first tweet you sent me? Our first Skype call? The Manchester apartment. London and the radio show. Tatinof and Tabinof, this tour. Where we began and what we’ve been through. You aren’t the only one who can be sentimental, ok?” Phil said, a bit defensively, waiting for Dan to laugh or move away or make gagging sounds, but he kept tracing the ink on the skin just below Phil’s collarbone.

“That’s six.”

“What?” Dan had spoken so quietly Phil had barely heard him.

“That’s six,” he said more firmly, staring intently at the mark and avoiding Phil’s eyes. “What’s the seventh line stand for?”

“Oh, well. Um, that one’s for the future. I mean we don’t know what will happen right? But there was one freckle left and I’m not getting another bloody tattoo so it’s open ended innit? Like our future.” He wanted Dan to look at him, into his eyes, he wanted to see if it meant as much to Dan as it did to him.

Then Dan did look up. His eyes met Phil’s and Phil could see that he was overcome with emotion. He felt it pour over him, Dan’s love, for Phil and for the life they’d made together. He reached out and brushed his thumbs gently under Dan’s bottom lashes, catching the tears there.

“I’ve never been the best with words when it comes to you-that’s your thing-but this is something physical, a symbol of what we are, what we have been, and what I want with you. Something that’s permanent like we are, because even if the thought of forever scares me a bit, when I think of the future it’s you next to me the whole way, and I wanted something to show you that, something for both of us.”

Dan’s eyes lit with his grin at that and suddenly he was moving, straddling Phil’s waist and sitting back on his thighs. Phil grasped his hips to keep him steady and met his grin with one of his own.

“You are such a sap, Phil Lester. It’s disgusting.” And leaning forward, Dan pressed a soft kiss to the constellation on Phil’s chest, then his lips, then he rested his forehead against Phil’s. “I can’t wait to see our future, Philly.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Britt @moossage for inspiring Beth :) The dialogue shouldn't be blamed on her though. Those mistakes are all mine.


End file.
